Four people died and another went missing Friday amid landslides and flooding in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, as torrential rains lashed the area still reeling from damage caused by Typhoon Hagibis earlier this month, local authorities said.
Ichihara city in the prefecture saw more than 280 millimeters of rain in a span of 12 hours, surpassing the average monthly total for October in just half a day, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The Chiba prefectural government asked the Self-Defense Forces to send troops on a search and rescue mission for those missing. The rain prompted the prefectural government to issue an evacuation order for residents of some municipalities.
(Photo taken on Oct. 25, 2019, shows a house destroyed by a landslide following torrential rain in the city of Chiba, east of Tokyo)
Two rivers in Ichihara overflowed, submerging neighboring areas. Rivers in Chiba city and Kashiwa, as well as a river in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, also flooded.
According to police and rescue workers, a woman in her 60s was confirmed dead and another body, possibly of a man in his 60s, was found after landslides damaged a total of four buildings in Chiba city's Midori Ward and Ichihara.
A woman in her 40s was reported missing, while a 57-year-old woman sustained serious injuries.
In other municipalities in the prefecture, two men in their 80s died in separate incidents, one of whom was found dead in a submerged car.
Several other people may have been washed away in floods, according to the Nagara town government.
Some commercial flights originally bound for Narita airport in the prefecture had to change their destinations due to the heavy rain, Narita International Airport Co. said.
Related coverage:
Local gov't treatment of homeless during Typhoon Hagibis raises concerns
90% of homes flooded in typhoon ineligible for gov't support
Typhoon death toll rises to 80, search for missing continues
